Blue Sleeps Faster Than Tuesday

Pete Wheeler exhibits five paintings in the back gallery, seven years after departing these shores for Berlin. It’s an interesting moment to think about what might have grown or changed around his practice in the meantime.

The paintings now are less built up. In other words, the photo emulsion at the heart of the big paintings has considerably less oil brushed over the top. There are still coloured grounds though, as in the unexpectedly haunting pinks and yellows of Atonement, and the beautifully weird pinks and crimson of Ashes to Fire.There remains an unease about Wheeler’s choice of subjects. A gloved hand with knife, birds of prey, a skull and a cruciform figure are typical terrain. But the way he treats this subject matter, his visual range if you like, has increased. We are looking at a visual sensibility now, which has rounded out and matured. This is I think, most obvious in his use of line, particularly the strange, congruent lines of the big canvases. They add depth. They are synchronous while also being idiosyncratic – qualities that give the works presence and energy – a visual unease that echoes across the paintings. Yet they are a light touch. They lend elegance and sophistication to Pete Wheeler’s painting that he hasn’t often achieved before. Europe is clearly agreeing with him.JS